ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of External Affairs
Cabinet approves signing of Memorandum of Cooperation between India and Japan on Partnership in "Specified Skilled Worker"
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of India and Government of Japan, on a Basic Framework for Partnership for Proper Operation of the System Pertaining to "Specified Skilled Worker".
Details:
The present Memorandum of Cooperation would set an institutional mechanism for partnership and cooperation between India and Japan on sending and accepting skilled Indian workers, who have qualified the required skill and Japanese language test, to work in fourteen specified sectors in Japan. These Indian workers would be granted a new status of residence of "Specified Skilled Worker" by the Government of Japan.
Implementation Strategy:
Under this MOC, a Joint Working Group will be set up to follow up the implementation of this MOC.
Major Impact:
The Memorandum of Cooperation  would enhance people-to -people contacts, foster mobility of workers and skilled professionals from India to Japan.
Beneficiaries:
Skilled Indian workers from fourteen sectors viz. Nursing care; Building cleaning; Material Processing industry; Industrial machinery manufacturing industry; Electric and electronic information related industry; Construction; Shipbuilding and ship-related industry; Automobile maintenance; Aviation; Lodging; Agriculture; Fisheries; Food and beverages manufacturing industry and Food service industry would have enhanced job opportunities to work in Japan.
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Ministry of Home Affairs
Cabinet approves Agreement between India and Morocco on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Agreement between India and Morocco on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
Benefits:
The Agreement will provide a broad legal framework for bilateral cooperation between India and Morocco in investigation and prosecution of crime, tracing, restraint, forfeiture or confiscation or proceeds and instruments of crime. It aims to increase effectiveness in investigation and prosecution of crime, and in providing the necessary peaceful ambience which is a pre-requisite for the development of society as a whole. It will further be instrumental in gaining better inputs and insights in the modus operandi of organized criminals and terrorists, which in turn can be used to fine-tune policy decisions in the field of Internal Security.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Government takes historic pro-farmer decision of hiking fertiliser subsidy onetime
Subsidy on DAP fertiliser hiked by 140%
Government will spend additional Rs 14,775 crore as subsidy in Kharif season.
Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda expresses gratitude to Prime Minister for enhancing subsidy rates for DAP and other P & K fertiliser
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda today expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for taking historic decision to onetime enhance subsidy rates for DAP and other P & K fertilisers for upcoming Kharif season, which he said would hugely benefit millions of farmers.
It may be noted that prices of Phosphatic and Potassic  fertilisers are decontrolled and manufacturers are free to fix MRPs of their product. In recent months, international prices of finished fertilisers like Di-ammonium Phosphate  and its raw materials like phosphoric acid, ammonia and sulphur have seen huge jump of 60 to 70 %, which in turn has been putting pressure on their domestic prices. There were reports of DAP being sold by fertilizer companies at increased MRP of Rs 1900/- per bag in the month of April, which was an increase of Rs 700/- bag from price prevailing in the month of March. Similarly, domestic prices of other P & K fertilisers surged by almost 50 %. Fertilizer being critical input for agriculture operation, these were increasing hardships of farmers.
In view of this the Government, keeping in mind the interest of the farmer, took a prompt and proactive action to address the hardship of the farmers. A High Level Meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister on 19 May, 2021, in which the Prime Minister directed that there shall be no increase in price of P&K fertilisers, and that the Central Government would bear all the burden of price increase for the upcoming kharif season as a one-time measure to reduce hardship of farmers during the covid period.
The subsidy rate for DAP has been enhanced from Rs 511/- per bag to Rs 1211/- per bag, an increase of Rs 700/- per bag. This will ensure that DAP will continue to be available to the farmers at last years’ price of Rs 1200/- per bag. Subsidy on DAP fertiliser is hiked by 140% The price of other P & K fertilisers will also reduce to around last years’ prices. The Government will spend additional Rs 14,775 crore as subsidy in Kharif season.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
NMCG & WASH Institute Signs MoU For Capacity Building In Faecal Sludge & Septage Management
In India, untreated faecal sludge and urban sewage are the primary source of water pollution, particularly in the cities around Ganges. Under Prime Minister’s visionary initiative, the Swachh Bharat Mission, more than 62 lakh toilets are built. Half of these toilets rely on on-site sanitation system . Managing the waste collected from these toilets is the next big challenge for India. Considering these challenges, systematic capacity building initiatives need to be undertaken to build the skill and knowledge of the Government, Urban Local Body  officials, STP/FSTP Operators, Sanitary workers, entrepreneurs, NGO professionals and other stakeholders involved in the FSSM sector across India.
To bridge this gap, National Mission of Clean Ganga  has signed an MoU with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Institute  to conduct a series of trainings to enhance the quality of service of officials in Urban Local Bodies . This MoU is also to efficiently address FSSM issues in towns and cities of the Ganga Basin. The project will be funded by USAID and supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It aims to improve preparedness towards FSSM  and Wastewater Management in Indian towns and cities.
As a first step in this collaboration, a webinar followed by two batches of detailed online trainings have already been conducted starting off with the state of Uttar Pradesh covering 20 ULBs. Many more such trainings are planned to cover the Ganga basin states – West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Some trainings are also planned in Vijaywada, Bhubaneshwar, Udaipur, Pune, Aurangabad, Chennai and Hyderabad. The training will include orientation training, Integrated Waste Water Management, Exposure visits to Co-treatment sites, certification courses for STP operators and various advanced trainings on FSSM.
Congratulating WASH institute on their efforts towards skill development in FSSM, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG said, “There is a huge demand of skilled workforce in FSSM. These tie-up with WASH institute will help building skilled work force in the area of water and sanitation management.” The MoU was signed between Shri Binod Kumar, Director Coordination, NMCG and Shri Rajesh Pai, Sr. Technical Advisor, WASH Institute. Shri Jagmohan Gupta, Advisor, NMCG and Shri Ashok Kumar Singh, Executive Director , NMCG were present at the event.
The overall outcome of the capacity building project is envisaged to be that Urban Local Bodies will efficiently address FSSM issues in their cities. Also, ULBs will use data driven planning, execution and management of WASH delivery through the creation of knowledge management database. The training courses are designed to strengthen basic understanding of FSSM sector encompassing technical, policy and regulatory and financial aspects.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Human Trafficking in Women and Children
The "National Crime Records Bureau  compiles and publishes information on crimes including trafficking in its publication “Crime in India” which is available till the year 2020 on the website of NCRB https://ncrb.gov.in. Latest published data pertains to the year 2020. Total number of cases in which women  and children  were trafficked during 2018 to 2020 are as under:
|
|
2018
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|
2019
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2020
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Women 
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|
Children 
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|
Women 
|
|
Children (Below 18 years
|
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Women 
|
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Children (Below 18 years
|
|
1064
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941
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|
923
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|
883
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|
784
|
|
750
The human-trafficking is showing a declining trend over last 3 years.
Police” and “Public Order” are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order as well as investigation and prosecution of crimes, including the crime of human trafficking, vests with respective State Governments, who are competent to deal with such offences under extant provisions of law. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs  has been supplementing the efforts of State Governments by undertaking various initiatives and measures. In 2020, MHA provided financial assistance to States and Union Territories  for strengthening the existing Anti Human Trafficking Units  and setting up new AHTUs, covering all districts of country with AHTUs. MHA has also been providing financial assistance to States and UTs for holding ‘Judicial Colloquiums’ and ‘State level conferences’ on periodic basis for sensitising police and judicial officers and to make available to them updated information on human trafficking. MHA has also been issuing various advisories and guidelines to States/UTs and other stakeholders on preventing and combating the crime of human trafficking. These advisories are available om MHA’s website at: https//www.mha.gov.in . The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 was also amended in 2019 with a view to authorising the National Investigation Agency to investigate cases of human trafficking under Section 370 and 370A of Indian Penal Code, having inter-State and international ramifications. For addressing transnational issues of human trafficking, bilateral Memoranda of Understanding have been signed with Bangladesh, UAE, Cambodia and Myanmar. Multilateral instruments on human trafficking have also been signed by India.
Ministry of Women and Child Development is formulating a comprehensive legislation titled "Trafficking of Persons  Bill".
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to Organize Prize Distribution Function of National Youth Parliament Competition 2022-23 for Kendriya Vidyalayas tomorrow
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs will organize the Prize Distribution Function of 33rd National Youth Parliament Competition, 2022-23 for Kendriya Vidyalayas, tomorrow the 1st September, 2023 at Parliament House Complex, New Delhi.
Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Minister of State  of the Ministry of Law and Justice; Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture will preside over the function and distribute the prizes .On this occasion, the students of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, which stood first at National Level in National Youth Parliament Competition, 2022-23 for Kendriya Vidyalayas, will present a repeat performance of their "Youth Parliament" sitting.
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been organising Youth Parliament Competitions for Kendriya Vidyalayas for many years. Under the scheme of Youth Parliament Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas, the 33rd Competition in the series was organized during 2022-23 among 150 Kendriya Vidyalayas spread over 25 regions of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.
The Youth Parliament Scheme aims at inculcating among the younger generations the spirit of self-discipline, tolerance of diverse opinion, righteous expression of views and other virtues of a democratic way of life. Besides, the scheme also acquaints the students with the practices and procedures of Parliament, techniques of discussion and debate and develops in them self-confidence, quality of leadership and the art and skill of effective oratory.
“Nehru Running Shield” and Trophy for standing first at National Level in the 33rd Competition will be awarded to Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh . Besides, Zonal winner trophies will also be awarded to 4 Vidyalayas for standing first at Zonal level in the competition. Also, Regional winner trophies will be awarded to 20 Vidyalayas for standing first at regional level in the competition.
President's Secretariat
President of India Graces 25th Convocation of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu graced and addressed the 25th convocation of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University at Hisar, Haryana today .
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University has been making significant contributions in the education, research and extension of agriculture since its inception. If today Haryana is the second largest contributor to the food grain stocks under Central Pool, the credit goes to the farmer-friendly policies of the Central and State Governments, technological initiatives of HAU, and willingness of the farmers of this state to adopt the latest agricultural techniques.
The President said that today India has become a food grain exporting country from a food stressed country despite the huge population. But today there are many concerns in front of agriculture like increasing population, shrinking agricultural land, falling groundwater level, decreasing soil fertility, and climate change for which agricultural professionals have to find solutions. They have to find ways to provide nutritious food to our huge population while causing minimum damage to the environment and biodiversity. It is a challenge as well as an opportunity before agricultural professionals.
The President said that technology has an important role in reducing the cost of farming, increasing productivity, making agriculture environment friendly and more profitable. She said that water is an important component of agriculture but it is available in limited quantities. Therefore, judicious use of water in agriculture is very important. There should be maximum use of technology in irrigation so that exploitation of water resources can be minimized. She said that the role of institutions like HAU is important in the development and dissemination of such technology.
The President said that universities should act as laboratories from where knowledge spreads and benefits the entire society. She was happy to note that HAU is making concerted efforts for dissemination of crop production techniques among the farmers. She urged to intensify these efforts for the maximum benefit of people of the country, especially the residents of Haryana.
The President said that agriculture is a huge sector. Apart from grain, fruit and milk production, animal husbandry and fisheries, there are many other industries which are directly linked to agriculture. India has emerged as a start-up hub. The world's third largest start-up ecosystem is in India. The agriculture sector supplies raw materials to many industries. Therefore, this sector provides immense possibilities for start-ups. She was happy to note that HAU has established an Incubation Centre to promote entrepreneurship through innovation, technology upgradation and skill development. She expressed confidence that students would take advantage of this positive environment and contribute to the development of the country.
Click here to see President's speech in hindi
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
220.51 cr Total Vaccine doses  have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
2,44,178 doses administered in last 24 hours
India's Active caseload currently stands at 1,783
Active cases stand at 0.01%
Recovery Rate currently at 98.81%
83 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 4,41,50,372
111 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
Daily positivity rate 
Weekly Positivity Rate 
91.56 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 1,59,069 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
Ministry of Communications
Reverification of headers and content templates by principal entities under TCCCPR-2018
Various entities such as banks, other financial institutions, insurance companies, trading companies, business entities, etc. sends commercial messages to the telecom subscribers through SMS. These entities are referred to as Principal Entities  in TCCCPR, 2018 regulations of TRAI.
As per the regulatory framework, any commercial communication may only take place using registered Headers assigned to the Pes for this purpose. Header means an alphanumeric string assigned to Pes under these regulations to send commercial communications.
Pes are required to get content templates registered with the Access Providers. Any commercial communication through SMS is subjected to scrubbing against the content template registered by Pes with Access Provider and, if it fails, then such SMS is not allowed to be delivered to the consumers.
The TRAI has observed that some Pes have registered a large number of Headers and Content Templates and, at times, some of these are misused by some Telemarketers. To stop the same, TRAI through its Direction dated February 16, 2023, directed for reverification of all registered Headers & Content Templates on DLT platform and block all unverified Headers and Message Templates within 30 and 60 days respectively from the date of issue of Direction.
In February 2023, TRAI wrote to RBI, SEBI, NHA and all Central/State Government Departments requesting them to sensitise all institutions/departments, under their ambit, who send bulk SMS, about the action required to be taken at their end to ensure that header and message templates are not misused.
It has been seen that many Pes have not yet completed the verification of Headers and Content Templates. Due to lack of timely action by Pes, Headers and Content Templates assigned to such Pes remain vulnerable for likely misuse and may result in inconvenience to public in form of spam and also financial frauds.
Any further delay on part of by Pes to get the re-verification of Headers and Content Templates may result in the blocking of their Headers, Content Templates and messages. The TRAI shall review the progress in the next two weeks and may issue appropriate direction, if required. Therefore, all the Pes should complete the process of verification of Headers and Content Templates immediately.
RKJ/DK
(Visitor Counter : 897
Ministry of Defence
INDIAN ARMY FORMS ‘BHARATMALA’ COMMEMORATING
THE NINTH ‘INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY’
The Ninth International Yoga Day was celebrated by the Indian Army with fervor. The Army formed a ‘Bharatmala’ by conducting Yoga all along the border areas of the nation, ranging from the eastern extremity of Dong, where the first rays of the Sun fall in India to the sand dunes of Longewala in Rajasthan, where the epic battle was fought in 1971; from the glacial heights of Siachen to the southern tip of Kanyakumari and in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The troops, families including children and defence civilians actively participated in the event. The local populace at all locations was also actively co-opted in the Yoga activities.
General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff was the Chief Guest at the mass Yoga event organised at Cariappa Parade Ground, Delhi Cantt, New Delhi. The Army Chief’s participation encouraged everyone to make Yoga a daily habit. Continuing with the enhanced Indo-Africa partnership, outreach was also organised in African nations through Indian Army contingents deployed in United Nations  Mission areas and in other Training Teams abroad.
Profoundly imbued to the Indian culture and ethos since ages, Yoga has found worldwide acceptance in its varied Avatars. The emancipating and healing effects of Yoga have been acknowledged by the scientific community as well. The Indian Army has always been at the forefront in making Yoga protocols part of its daily schedule of activities, irrespective of the location of deployment of troops. As part of the national effort, the Indian Army has been regularly engaging local populace, particularly in the remote border areas to spread awareness as also to conduct workshops for proliferation of Yoga.
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
Utilisation of MPLADS Funds
The utilization of funds under MPLAD Scheme, in general, is considered to be optimal. However, to avoid sub-optimal utilization of MPLADS funds, the Ministry reiterates the importance of optimal utilization of MPLADS funds during the Annual Review Meetings with the State/UT Nodal Departments; deputes its officers to visit States/Districts to review the implementation; and issues directions to speed up utilization  and to diligently follow the time line for sanction as prescribed in Para 3.12 and 3.13 of the MPLADS Guidelines.
Based on the suggestions/recommendations received from various stakeholders, including recommendations contained in reports of various Parliamentary Committees including the 14th Report of the Estimates Committee, which were found feasible and aligned with the objectives of MPLAD Scheme, the Ministry has released revised MPLADS Guidelines on 22-2-2023, to be effective from 1-4-2023. These Guidelines have also been uploaded on MPLADS portal at mplads.gov.in.
As of now, the concerned Nodal District Authority of all the Hon’ble Members of Parliament of the 17th session of Lok Sabha have opened bank accounts for MPLADS funds.
The Hon’ble Members of Parliament who represent constituents are considered by the Ministry as the most important stakeholders in the MPLAD Scheme, and hence, their feedback/suggestions, which are considered to be very critical for bringing qualitative improvement in the Scheme, are duly considered during planning and implementation under MPLADS.
The recommendations contained in 14th Report of the Estimates Committee, which were found feasible and aligned with the objectives of MPLAD Scheme, have been incorporated in the revised MPLADS Guidelines released by the Ministry on 22-2-2023, to be effective from 1-4-2023. These Guidelines have been uploaded on MPLADS portal at www.mplads.gov.in
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, in collaboration with State Bank of India, has launched a web-portal on 22-2-2023 for implementing revised fund flow procedure w.e.f. 1-4-2023. The new web-portal incorporates several technology-enabled functionalities covering the lifecycle of a MPLADS development project.
This information was given by the Minister of State  of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Minister of State  of the Ministry of Planning and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.